Tylenol found to dull the brain and make people less likely to notice errors

Two Canadian universities did a study of how the well known and widely used pain reliever Tylenol can affect thinking.

Apparently they found Tylenol causes some people to somehow get complacent to "errors".

The article seems to suggesting a conspiracy about dumbing down Humans.

I know Tylenol can cause liver damage and some other side effects, but brain function is a new one.

Possible I suppose.

Tylenol (aka acetaminophen) is found in many over-the-counter medicines.

Anybody know anything about this effect?

Tylenol found to dull the brain and make people less likely to notice errors

The active ingredient in Tylenol may interfere with people’s ability to detect errors, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, and published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

It’s not the first time acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) has been linked with cognitive disruption. It is the first time, however, to use brain imaging to examine Tylenol’s effects on error identification and processing.

“The core idea of our study is that we don’t fully understand how acetaminophen affects the brain,” researcher Dan Randles said in a press release. “While there’s been recent behavioural research on the effects of acetaminophen, we wanted to have a sense of what’s happening neurologically.”

another Hmmmm

Tylenol found to dull the brain

Going for some now . Thanks for the idea...

a reply to: xuenchen
I'm not sure if they are similar enough chemically, but could Advil have similar effects or any other effects on cognitive functions?

a reply to: Tiamat384

Advil is an anti-inflammatory which is different than Tylenol. Tylenol is a painkiller, so the idea that it can impair cognition to some degree doesn't surprise me. Most painkillers will impair your ability to some degree or other.

originally posted by: Tiamat384
a reply to: xuenchen
I'm not sure if they are similar enough chemically, but could Advil have similar effects or any other effects on cognitive functions?

Advil is ibuprofen
Tylenol is acetaminophen

I can take Tylenol but not Advil .

a reply to: Tiamat384

my understanding is that being a completely different class of drugs (Tylenol is not an NSAID) , it shouldn`t be a similar problem.

a reply to: dragonlover12
a reply to: Gothmog
a reply to: ketsuko

Ah ok, thanks everyone. I don't take either, or any medication, so I wasn't aware. But thanks for your insightful answers. Always thought Advil was a painkiller.

a reply to: xuenchen

Source is actually Natural News.

It may well be true and just fine, but Natural News somehow never has the actual title of studies from the real source, in this case Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience a real source.

I searched some of the quotes and they are snipped from various studies. I can't find a study that is this actual study. Some such material is delayed by 12 months before you can access the study.

This may well be true, but they should wait until they can link to the actual study. Click Bait sites don't care much about doing articles the right way, they have things to sell.

a reply to: Blaine91555

Looks like the "tie-in" is from this ....

Anxious about life? Tylenol may do the trick

remote possibilities?

Compared to a placebo group, the researchers found the people taking acetaminophen were significantly more lenient in judging the acts of the criminals and rioters – and better able to cope with troubling ideas.

What's the method of action that Tylenol does this? What neurotransmitters does it interfere with? The article doesn't seem to mention HOW it does this, or theorize why it does either. :/

a reply to: xuenchen

Thanks. Very interesting topic.

So once you take tylenol, you will make the mistake of avoiding the cheaper drug aspirin to treat your headache because the tylenol messes with your judgement. That really sounds good. Aspirin is bad for you when you have a very high fever, tylenol is bad for you all the time, it is hard on the liver and kidneys. I feel that aspirin is a much better drug than tylenol for many things and it is way cheaper.

Most drugs do not cross the blood brain barrier, they can mess with other bodily functions which cause changes in the brain chemistry though..

Lots of speculation, but I like the thought.


The two primary painkillers are acetaminophen or ibuprofen(nsaid)
Either is bad for you if taken regularly (much like ethanol, any form of sugar, or cheese...)


One kind can cause stomach/intestinal issues, either can cause liver damage- no doubt either also changes the effect on the brain. Everything does- you are what you eat, remember?

Thought hurts- in todays society, it almost seems as though we find our own ways of dulling ourselves. Notice how things like mary-jay are outlawed while ethanol is advertised everywhere. One causes significant health problems and brain damage, the other is mostly harmless and promotes thinking outside the constructs of society.

Any government/control system was rigged from the start based on motives you'll never get to witness. This drug very well may have been proven to conform to a given agenda... or not.

The wiki page on tylanol is interesting, though. Seems in '82 someone tried to shut them down.
Truth movement, or profiteering? hard to say, since wealth lost all sense at least a decade before then.

I'm curious if this has anything to do with it being able to pass the blood-brain barrier.

Tylenol is a dangerous poison, the moment your liver have problem, it begin to metabolize tylenol into a deadly liver poison.

If you ever have family goes to emergency for liver injury, the first thing the doc will ask you is: Does the patient have taken tylenol? If the answer is yes, then be prepared for the doc to tell you that your relative will be dead soon due to liver failure.

Don't believe me? Go to an ER of your hospital and ask a doc!

I know this much about painkillers - they are a migraine trigger for someone with chronic migraine, so much so that your body will create the neurologic conditions necessary to cause a migraine in response to them. I started chronic migraine in response to the narcotic painkillers I was prescribed for regular migraine, but according to my current migraine specialist and neurologist, I now have to be wary of even Tylenol for creating the conditions necessary to start up chronic migraine again.

He was nervous enough that he even rationed my Tylenol during pregnancy.

So your brain chemistry does respond to it in various ways beyond just pain response.

a reply to: xuenchen


"Take two"...and call who in the morning?

a reply to: Tiamat384

Advil is a painkiller and an anti-inflamatory. Believe it or not.

originally posted by: mrwiffler
a reply to: Tiamat384

Advil is a painkiller and an anti-inflamatory. Believe it or not.

Advil is a brand name for Ibuprofen.

a reply to: mrwiffler
That's what I thought....calm